Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.
542106865_1094618942802283_8542195212627410287_n.jpg
 

log in or register to remove this ad



OK, assuming that someone here at ENWorld will be winning the $1.7 billion Powerball lottery this weekend (that's how probabilities work, right?), what do you do with the money?
I’d divide the net jackpot into distinct categories: selected established charities, mad money, altruistic donations, futureproofing and potential handouts to friends and family

1) the established charities would be made into co-owners of the ticket, with their share measured in %. That means they’d take their % in before tax dollars- IOW they get more than if I donated to them after taxes. These are the charities you feel most strongly about.

2) mad money is the share you have fun with. Buying stuff, traveling, etc. (Psychologically, you need to do this.)

3) altruistic donations are the things you come across over time and want to help with- solar powered wells & other infrastructure, desalination plants, fighting malnutrition, pathogens & homelessness, disaster relief- that doesn’t necessarily have established full-time charities.

4) futureproofing is setting aside resources for your life & wellbeing. I’d put a big chunk of the winnings in a HEMS trust, which can only be used for Health, Education, Maintenance and Support. It can’t be used for anything outside of those categories, including satisfying bankruptcy or liability judgements.

5) handling handouts can best be done 2 ways. You can either give some people a % share of the ticket (see 1) or set up a HEMS trust (4), and tell anyone who comes to you looking for money to talk to the trustee. (Personally, I prefer the latter.) This minimizes them begging for money and reduces the odds of you just frittering your winnings away because you’re soft on them.
 


I get the hate HOAs generate. I know their roots. I’ve seen how petty they can be.

OTOH, I’ve also seen times when their rules had positive impacts on the neighborhoods…IF they’re not being run by total knobs. Ours, for instance, has some rules that would normally be part of city code enforcement, but our city doesn’t exactly give a damn about X, Y, and Z.🤷🏾‍♂️

(We do still have a knob surplus, though.)
 

All this talk of HOAs puts me in mind of that X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully have to go undercover as a married couple to investigate a housing development that was built on top of a trash heap, and it turns out the HOA is using a trash monster to kill homeowners who go against their strict rules.

I don't think I was a fan of HOAs before that episode, and I'm still not a fan of them to this day. They are, fortunately, few and far between in New Zealand.
 

I get the hate HOAs generate. I know their roots. I’ve seen how petty they can be.

OTOH, I’ve also seen times when their rules had positive impacts on the neighborhoods…IF they’re not being run by total knobs. Ours, for instance, has some rules that would normally be part of city code enforcement, but our city doesn’t exactly give a damn about X, Y, and Z.🤷🏾‍♂️

(We do still have a knob surplus, though.)
I think the problem is that the type of person who tends to want to sit on HOA boards is usually a knob.
 

All this talk of HOAs puts me in mind of that X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully have to go undercover as a married couple to investigate a housing development that was built on top of a trash heap, and it turns out the HOA is using a trash monster to kill homeowners who go against their strict rules.

I don't think I was a fan of HOAs before that episode, and I'm still not a fan of them to this day. They are, fortunately, few and far between in New Zealand.
well Hobbits only classify wizards as trouble makers so (I don't know where i was going with this)
 


Remove ads

Top